FOOD LABELS
Investigating to understand how to use them to make healthy food choices.
Food Labelling
Food labels must contain the following information: • Name of food • Mass (weight or volume) • ‘Use by’ and ‘best before’ dates • How to store the food • How to prepare the food • Details of the person or company who either made, packed or is selling the product • The country where the food was produced • Ingredients • Any of the 14 most common allergens • Nutritional information
Name of food
• If the food has made-up names, e.g. Coca-Cola, which give no information about what is in them or how they have been processed, a description must be given.
• If the food has been processed in some way, it must be included in the title, e.g. dried apricots, salted peanuts, smoked mackerel.
• The name must also describe the differences between apparently similar products. For example, a „fruit yogurt‟ must be flavoured using real fruit, whereas a „fruit flavoured yogurt‟ can be flavoured using artificial flavourings.
List of ingredients
It should include all the ingredients, in descending order of weight, according to the amounts that were used to make it.
Allergens need to be highlighted - as bold, underlined, in italics or highlighted.
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Most
Allergens
Pork Sausages Ingredients: Pork (85%) Water, Breadcrumbs (Wheat Flour, Calcium carbonate, Iron, Yeast, Salt) Black Pepper, Salt, Sage, Parsley, Onion, Preservative (Sodium metabisulphite) Coriander, Antioxidant (Ascorbic acid) Allergy Advice: For allergens see ingredients in bold.
Common Food
• Cereals, e.g. wheat, barley, etc. • Crustaceans, e.g. prawns, crabs, etc. • Fish • Peanuts • Eggs • Nuts • Mustard • Milk • Celery • Soya beans • Sesame seeds • Sulphur dioxide and sulphites – used to preserve foods • Lupin – a garden flower that is used in some foods • Molluscs, e.g. octopus, squid, etc. Food labels have to show any of the 14 most common food allergens in bold in their ingredient list.
Allergens
Additives
Are added to ensure safety, increase shelf life or improve the taste, texture or appearance of food.
Additives are given an „E number‟ to show that they have been tested for safety and approved for use in food by the European Commission.
They must be shown clearly in the list of ingredients on food labels by the additive”s name or E number.
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Weight or volume
• The net weight or volume of a product must be within a few grams or milliliters of the quantity stated on the label.
• The symbol „e” is used to show that the weight complies with the EU requirement for weight under the „average system”, i.e. - the average pack is at least the weight declared.
• For solid food that are sold in a liquid (e.g. canned tuna in brine), the drained (net) weight of the food should be included on the packaging.
Date marks
-found on perishable food, e.g. milk, meat, fish. Food are not safe to eat after this date.
before‟ -found on a wide range of food including frozen, dried and canned food. „BBE‟ dates are reliant on the food being stored according to the instructions on the label.
• •„Use-by‟
• •„Best
Storage and preparation conditions
• When food require special storage conditions or conditions of use, these must be clearly indicated.
• Instructions on how to prepare and cook the food must also be given on the label, when necessary.
Country of origin and place of provenance
The label must display clearly where the food has come from.
It must also show origin information for most fresh and frozen meat.
The origin of the main ingredients will have to be given if different from where the final product is made.
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Traffic Light System
In the last few years, a new traffic light system for food labels has been brought in to help people make healthier choices.
Green – healthy choice, can be eaten all the time. Amber – medium, can be eaten most of the time. Red – high, should only be eaten sometimes.
The more green sections there are, the healthier the choice.
Traffic Light System
The traffic light system shows whether or not the food product is high or low in:
Fat
Saturated fat Sugars Salt
For example, sugars will be shown as red (high) if the product contains more than 22.5g of sugar per 100g. It will be green (low) if there is less than 5g of sugar per 100g.
Traffic Light System
Nutrition Labels
These are a more detailed look at the nutritional value of the food product. Nutrition Typical values 100g contains Each slice (typically 50g) contains % Reference intake for an average adult Reference intake for an average adult Energy 1046kJ 250kcal 523kJ 125kcal 6% 8400kJ 2000kcal Fat 2.8g 1.4g 2% 70g Of which saturates 1.6g 0.8g 4% 20g Carbohydrates 38g 19g 7% At least 260g Of which sugars 5g 2.5g 3% 90g Fibre 3.0g 1.5g Protein 6.4g 3.2g 6% 50g Salt 2.0g 1.0g 17% 6g These are the advised amounts an average adult woman should eat. Too much salt can lead to a high blood pressure. Saturated fat is the worst type of fat. It is bad for people in high quantities.
Making Choices
Food labels protect, inform and help people make healthy food choices.
Next time you are choosing something to eat, remember to look at the food label!
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